Celtic Whiskey Shop

Celtic Whiskey Shop was established in 2003, and is Ireland’s first dedicated whiskey and spirits shop. I was commissioned to design a visual identity and a range of launch collateral for the company. The key challenge of this project was to create a visual identity which would reflect the 'celtic-ness' of the company’s core range of Irish and Scottish whisk(e)ys, whilst also accommodating its growing range of world whiskeys and products from other countries such as Canada, the United States and Japan. The solution is embodied in the visual identity logotype which consists of a ‘water of life’ symbol alongside a contemporary and modern typeface. The water of life symbol is an expression of the Gaelic term for whiskey: 'uisce beatha' or water of life, and is comprised of a representation of a heart in a flow of water. In choosing a typeface to complement the ‘water of life’ symbol, I deliberately avoided selecting an identifiably 'Irish' typeface such as American Uncial, instead opting for a typeface which was more contemporary and global in its look and feel, yet which retained a calligraphic and poetic quality. The visual identity was rolled out in a range of shop signage, packaging, promotional brochures, posters and leaflets, stationery and advertising campaigns.